The Telangana state government’s announcement to develop an industrial corridor between Hyderabad-Warangal has led to an infrastructure boost outside Hyderabad.
The corridor on the eastern side of the city, touted as the second IT hub of Hyderabad, already houses companies like Infosys, Genpact, Axis Bank, among others. Infrastructure developers, including Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India and Andhra Pradesh Real Estate Developers of India say several infrastructure projects are underway and many are in the planning stage.
With the first Metro Rail stretch from Nagole-Mettuguda set to get operational and a Metro Rail depot at Uppal by March 2015, infrastructure developers see a swing in residential real estate. In a review meeting of industrial policy for Telangana, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said that Warangal will be developed into a second major city in Telangana after Hyderabad.
“The state government’s decision to develop the Hyderabad-Warangal stretch into an industrial corridor has given a boost to the already developing second IT Hub of Hyderabad. Several infrastructure projects including apartments, independent houses, layout ventures, gated communities are already underway at Uppal, Pocharam and beyond. Meanwhile, the operational outer ring road connecting Pedda Amberpet, Ghatkesar-Shamirpet is an added advantage for the sector,” said Ashok Swaminathan, of APREDA.
The IT Special Economic Zone in Uppal, which already has over 15 top fully functional IT companies, is attracting many more owing to lower rent for commercial spaces. Infotech, Suneratech IT solutions, 24/7, Truven Helath, GVK Technologies, Genpact and others are some of the companies that are fully operational in the region.
Uppal already houses NSL Arena, an IT SEZ with about 7 lakh sq ft area. The first phase of the project is complete and second phase will be taken up in early 2015. Two more phases will follow later.
“Another IT tower that is in the making at Uppal is will be completed by 2015. Already, over 10 to 15 companies are in negotiation for the commercial spaces,” said Rakesh Talwar, vice president of NSL Arena SEZ.
“Uppal and adjoining areas will be key markets in a few years. There is a lot of manpower available in these areas. At the same time, there are not many leisure and recreational spots for the IT crowd at this point of time. We want to fill this gap,” said C. Shekhar Reddy of Credai, adding that the project would be completed in about two years.
The company has already tied up with PVR Cinemas for a mall and has signed three IT clients as well, he said, adding that the rentals for Grade A IT office space in Uppal and surroundings would be about 50 per cent less compared to similar properties in the west side of the city.
Rentals in Uppal are around Rs 28 to Rs 30 per sq ft compared to Rs 50 to Rs 55 per sq ft prevalent in key micro markets of Hyderabad, he said. In addition, over 50 per cent of the IT employees working in Hitec City and Gachibowli live in Tarnaka and Uppal “This move will decongest the main city as 50 per cent of IT employees are said to be living in Tarnaka and Uppal area,” said said Sudheer Mareddi, managing director, Suneratech.
